This case study describes how DiGi Telecommunications launched an award for 'ordinary' content creators in Malaysia to promote their brand. View Summary

This case study describes how DiGi Telecommunications launched an award for 'ordinary' content creators in Malaysia to promote their brand.

Research by Digi Telecommunications found that half of early adopters of mobile internet were blue-collar workers and students rather than more affluent groups, and so devised a campaign to target them.

A combination of paid, owned and earned media was used to promote the awards, which then created brand advocates who, when combined, had a large social media following.

Results reflected an all-round spike in talk value, and the Malay subscriber base grew by 40%.

This case study describes how DiGi Telecommunications launched an award for 'ordinary' content creators in Malaysia to promote their brand. View Summary

This case study describes how DiGi Telecommunications launched an award for 'ordinary' content creators in Malaysia to promote their brand. Research by Digi Telecommunications found that half of early adopters of mobile internet were blue-collar workers and students rather than more affluent groups, and so devised a campaign to target them. A combination of paid, owned and earned media was used to promote the awards, which then created brand advocates who, when combined, had a large social media following. Results reflected an all-round spike in talk value, and the Malay subscribers base grew by 40%.

4

Gila Internet: Crazy Internet Sale for people crazy about the internet

This proved a challenge as Malaysian consumers wanted the latest mobile devices rather than EOL devices.

Digi Telecommunications overcame this challenge by focusing on selling mobile internet with the EOL devices, creating a participatory video story series on YouTube and placing ads on various websites popular with their target audience.

This research-led paper from Maxus, the media buying group, in India outlines a study to create a metric, set industry benchmarks about what drives brand fans to a Facebook fan page, and understand what keeps them engaged. View Summary

This research-led paper from Maxus, the media buying group, in India outlines a study to create a metric, set industry benchmarks about what drives brand fans to a Facebook fan page, and understand what keeps them engaged. The study was used to develop a strategic framework to recommend actions for Vodafone, the telecommunications operator, and provide customized solutions about the factors that will work best on brand fan pages.

Vodafone, the telecoms company, launched a campaign in India to create awareness of the need to use mobile phones more responsibly, particularly when driving. View Summary

Vodafone, the telecoms company, launched a campaign in India to create awareness of the need to use mobile phones more responsibly, particularly when driving. A target of generating at least 50,000 pledges was set to evaluate the behavioural changes achieved by the campaign. With the insight that 'Experience is the best teacher', a virtual simulation of a road accident was created so users could experience the reality that talking on the phone while driving can be a fatal mistake. Technology made possible a first-of-its-kind integration of web with mobile to customise and simulate an experience in order to drive a public service message of 'responsible mobility'. More than 110,000 pledges were received.

7

Telstra: How a 'functional family' injected relevance back into the fixedline home phone

Telstra, the Australian telecoms company, had been dealing with the decline of its important fixed-line business for several years, as consumers looked to mobile and IP-based services. View Summary

Telstra, the Australian telecoms company, had been dealing with the decline of its important fixed-line business for several years, as consumers looked to mobile and IP-based services. In response, it introduced the T-Hub, a convergence device that brought together voice, data and video while incorporating a wireless handset with fixed-line calling, touch screen functionality and internet access. The initial launch campaign in 2010 promoted awareness, but left consumers confused as to the T-Hub's role and functionality. The follow-up campaign had to make the T-Hub relevant to Australian families and boost sales. It did so by targeting parents with the proposition that T-Hub was a modern-day family management solution - perfect for imperfect families. The V creative included TV, cinema, press, online display and in-store. In the six weeks after launch, sales experienced a 45% uplift.

8

Telephone and Telegraph Apparatus (American Industry Overview)

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Gale American Industry Overviews, 2011

This paper provides an overview of the wire telephone and telegraph equipment industry in the United States, including modems and other telephone and telegraph interface equipment. View Summary

This paper provides an overview of the wire telephone and telegraph equipment industry in the United States, including modems and other telephone and telegraph interface equipment. It gives a snapshot summary of the industry, with additional sections on its development, organisation and structure, current conditions and leading companies. It contains a list of further information sources and reading.

9

Telecommunications Equipment (Global Industry Overview)

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Gale Global Industry Overviews, 2011

This paper provides an overview of the global telecommunications equipment industry. The paper gives a snapshot summary, with additional sections on the industry's development, organisation and structure, current conditions and its leading companies and countries. View Summary

This paper provides an overview of the global telecommunications equipment industry. The paper gives a snapshot summary, with additional sections on the industry's development, organisation and structure, current conditions and its leading companies and countries. It contains a list of further information sources and reading.

10

Vodafone Zoozoos: a social media beacon in India

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Vednarayan Sirdeshpande, Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2011

After cricket's Indian Premier League II (the Indian equivalent of the Superbowl) had finished, Vodafone's Zoozoo brand icons had emerged as a brand in themselves. View Summary

After cricket's Indian Premier League II (the Indian equivalent of the Superbowl) had finished, Vodafone's Zoozoo brand icons had emerged as a brand in themselves. These strange creatures had developed a following. However, despite a minimal available budget, Vodafone needed to maintain interest in the characters. This case study describes how the telecommunications group created a flow of social media and mobile tools, properties and content to foster and grow engagement. It cites results such as a growth in Facebook fans of the brand, heavy viewing of a dedicated channel on YouTube and good participation in user-generated contests.

11

Telephone Services and Accessories (Emerging Industry Overview)

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Gale Emerging Industry Overviews, 2011

This paper provides an overview of the telephone services and accessories industry, primarily in the United States. View Summary

This paper provides an overview of the telephone services and accessories industry, primarily in the United States. The paper gives a snapshot summary of the emerging industry in the US, with additional sections on its development, organisation and structure, current conditions and leading companies. It concludes with a brief section about the industry in other countries ('America and the world') as well as a list of further information sources and reading.

12

NetCom: The Nocturnal Butterfly Kit

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Direct Marketing Association - US, Bronze Award, 2008

NetCom wanted to promote its USB modem, but needed a fresh new way to sell the proposition of surfing the Internet anywhere. View Summary

NetCom wanted to promote its USB modem, but needed a fresh new way to sell the proposition of surfing the Internet anywhere. For NetCom, there would be no dull pictures of wireless surfers in airports or coffee shops. Just before the summer holiday, the company sent 100 IT decision-makers a package that included a USB modem, USB lamp, and a small guide to nocturnal butterflies. Recipients were encouraged to spend a relaxing summer evening outdoors with their computer, where they could plug in their light and modem and surf as they waited for the light to attract colorful summer moths. A response of 25% exceeded the campaign's goals.

The ring tone industry is laden with price-value discrepancies, quality concerns and consumers who show a general distrust for the companies involved. View Summary

The ring tone industry is laden with price-value discrepancies, quality concerns and consumers who show a general distrust for the companies involved. So how do you pit a little-known ring tone company against the giant Telco carriers and win over an apprehensive audience - in 12 weeks and while being outspent 200 to 1? The ‘Pherotones’ campaign for Oasys Mobile used pseudoscience, sexual attraction and a Danish doctor to create a viral phenomenon that generated over six million PR impressions and led to a 90% increase in sales. All with only $100,000.

The first campaign for Ameritech from its new advertising agency, Ammirati Lintas Puris of New York, was launched on October 6, 1997, in an attempt to move customers from simply recognizing the brand to preferring it over other telecommunications companies. View Summary

The first campaign for Ameritech from its new advertising agency, Ammirati Lintas Puris of New York, was launched on October 6, 1997, in an attempt to move customers from simply recognizing the brand to preferring it over other telecommunications companies. The following year's campaign took an even more aggressive stance, with the goal of creating "active preference" in consumers—in other words, that they not only prefer the Ameritech brand but actually switch to it from other brands or expand their existing Ameritech services. The company provided firepower for such an ambitious goal. In an article by Sally Beatty in the Wall Street Journal, Richard Notebaert, CEO of Ameritech, was quoted as saying, "We have never had a product test this good." He was referring to the Privacy Manager system, a service that worked in conjunction with Caller ID, whereby Ameritech intercepted calls from unidentified callers and requested that they identify themselves. In test runs 7 out of 10 calls did not make it through this first screening process and ring through to the customers, and as with collect calls, those that did offered customers the option of accepting or rejecting the calls depending on the callers' recorded identification of themselves. With the rise in unsolicited telemarketing calls flooding into homes, Privacy Manager "satisfied a need that consumers have been pleading to have resolved," said Notebaert. The 1997 campaign personalized Ameritech by presenting a number of its employees as profiled by their own relatives—a wife, a nephew, and a father—who discussed the Ameritech workers' commitment to providing outstanding service to customers. The 1998 campaign further personalized Ameritech's services by presenting vignettes of inviolable family moments, such as reading a story to the kids at bedtime and shampooing their hair at bath time. Beneath these serene scenes Ammirati superimposed text about the Privacy Manager: "Would you interrupt this moment for an aluminum siding deal? Introducing Privacy Manager, a new service from Ameritech. It stops unwanted, unidentified calls before your phone even rings. Interested? For availability in your area, call 1-800-PRIVACY." The understated simplicity of the spots won critical praise, and the launch of the Privacy Manager system was a business success.

In 1982 the U.S. government mandated the breakup of the vast network of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) into smaller regional companies, the so-called Baby Bells. View Summary

In 1982 the U.S. government mandated the breakup of the vast network of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) into smaller regional companies, the so-called Baby Bells. The regional companies handled local telephone calls, while AT&T continued to offer long-distance service. One area in which the new AT&T decisively lagged behind its competitors was in collect calls. The AT&T brand, 1-800 Call ATT for Collect Calls, had an uphill battle to overtake the category leader, or at least to gain market share, in long-distance collect calls, an area that was itself dwindling.In order to address the problem, AT&T initiated a national campaign in 2001 to win the hearts and minds of young callers. The campaign was the brainchild of AT&T's longtime advertising agency, Foote, Cone & Belding Worldwide of New York, but in October 2001 AT&T switched agencies, giving Young & Rubicam of New York all of its consumer advertising business. Young & Rubicam also inherited the latest ad campaign for 1-800 Call ATT for Collect Calls, which featured the brash young comic Carrot Top, the stage name of Scott Thompson. The integrated "Carrot Top" campaign consisted mainly of 15- and 30-second television spots, but it also included radio spots, print ads in newspapers and consumer magazines, outdoor signage, public relations work, ads shown in movie theaters, special events, and an online interactive component. The media expenditure for the campaign was in excess of $20 million.By August 2003 the "Carrot Top" campaign had met or exceeded all of its goals, and in 2004 it received a Bronze EFFIE Award for its marketplace effectiveness. Not only did the brand become more recognizable to the target market, but market share and revenue increased over a period of more than two years.

Before the 1980s the telecommunications giant American Telephone & Telegraph Corp. (AT&T) dominated the collect-call market by simply owning the majority of America's pay phones. After pressing "0" to make a collect call, consumers were automatically routed to AT&T operators. In 1993 MCI Communications Corporation changed the landscape with its 1-800-COLLECT program. By dialing MCI's toll-free number, callers were routed to MCI operators and bypassed AT&T's inflated rates. Hoping to undermine further AT&T's stronghold on the collect-call business, MCI released its "1-800-COLLECT" campaign, which targeted college students, military personnel, and the parents of both groups.Created by the ad agency Messner Vetere Berger McNamee & Schmetterer (MVBMS), the "1-800-COLLECT" campaign included television, radio, and print mediums. Spots for the $112 million campaign first aired on May 19, 1993. Most collect calls were being made by young people calling home, and MCI hoped to encourage their families to pressure them into choosing the most affordable carrier. One print ad featured the headline "What's Out" above an earring in a pierced ear, a torso clothed in leopard-skin briefs, and an "OPER 0" telephone button. Below the headline "What's In" was a ring in a pierced nose, a torso clothed in stylish boxer shorts, and the slogan "1-800-COLLECT. America's inexpensive way to call someone collect." The text added, "Dial it instead of '0' and save up to 44 percent." MVBMS filmed commercials with celebrities such as the former talk-show host Arsenio Hall, actor David Spade, sitcom actress Alyssa Milano, and basketball legend Michael Jordan—all pitching the low cost of 1-800-COLLECT. Later spots did not even mention MCI, because the company believed that its brand was not needed to advertise the service. "1-800-COLLECT" spots aired until the end of 2001.The USA Today Ad Track survey revealed that the first "1-800-COLLECT" spots were most popular among consumers 25 to 29 years old. The company reported a 50 percent increase in annual revenues between 1994 and the late 1990s. Even though collect calls were losing ground throughout the telecommunications industry in 2001, MCI still generated profits with its collect-calling service.

Founded in 1989, Working Assets Long Distance was the only enterprise offering a long-distance phone service and regularly donating to nonprofit organizations. View Summary

Founded in 1989, Working Assets Long Distance was the only enterprise offering a long-distance phone service and regularly donating to nonprofit organizations. It was a subsidiary of Working Assets Funding Service, Inc., which had been established four year earlier by Laura Scher, Michael Kieschnick, and Peter Barnes. Compared with the telecommunications giants AT&T, Sprint Corp., and MCI Communications Corp., Working Assets was a minuscule player. Nevertheless, it had succeeded in rapidly developing a base of customers and in generating considerable annual profits. Hoping to instill loyalty in its subscribers by sending them mailers that addressed social issues and its philanthropic work, Working Assets created an inexpensive direct-marketing campaign.Every month Working Assets enclosed a letter with its subscribers' long-distance phone bill. The letters, which were printed with soy ink on recycled paper, informed customers about political issues and encouraged them to phone their Congressional representatives to register their opinions. Ten minutes of free long distance were allotted for every customer to call representatives in Washington, D.C., once a month. Without the burden of a large marketing budget, Working Assets was able to charge fees that were actually lower than those of most other companies. The company also donated 1 percent of its gross revenues (as opposed to profits) to an array of progressive nonprofit organizations. The subscribers voted annually on which organization should receive the funds.Working Assets' political agenda and generosity brought the company a degree of publicity transcending that which it could have obtained from a more conventional marketing effort. Between 1985 and 2005 the Working Assets companies donated more than $50 million to nonprofit organizations. Although its direct-marketing campaign was responsible for spurring the bulk of the company's new subscribers to sign up, it was Working Assets' fundamental principles that ensured it a loyal base of consumers.

To promote its 10-10-220 "dial-around" plan in television and print ads, MCI WorldCom Inc. enlisted comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Dennis Miller. View Summary

To promote its 10-10-220 "dial-around" plan in television and print ads, MCI WorldCom Inc. enlisted comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Dennis Miller. The sneering funnyman appeared in a series of commercials beginning in 1998 in which he extolled the virtues of the company's dial-around service to dubious consumers. The Miller ads, created by Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York, were in keeping with the emerging practice of using celebrity spokespersons to endorse dial-around services. Television fixtures Miller, Tony Danza, and John Lithgow were just a few of the stars who agreed to lend their genial personas to the cause of long-distance savings in the 1990s. Through its subsidiary Telecom USA, MCI WorldCom was one of the pioneers of the lucrative dial-around market in the 1990s. Dial-around numbers were access codes that allowed users to bypass their primary long-distance carrier for an alternative firm on a call-by-call basis. Ironically, many dial-arounds were operated by the same carriers, although their ads generally did not say so. By the late 1990s MCI WorldCom had established two popular dial-around numbers—10-10-321and 10-10-220—which helped it achieve a dominant position in this growing market.

This paper shows how advertising created a phenomenon in the dull world of directory enquiries, propelling an unknown brand to market leader within a matter of months. View Summary

This paper shows how advertising created a phenomenon in the dull world of directory enquiries, propelling an unknown brand to market leader within a matter of months. It was a brave decision to advertise several months ahead of switch-off but one that paid off, since by then the 118 118 runners had already clocked up 17 million calls. Another key tactic was spending £2m of the advertising budget on buying the 118 118 number sequence. Post switch-off 118 118 dominated the deregulated market whilst charging people a premium for it. At the time of this paper’s submission 118 118 had 44% of the directory enquiries market. Next with 34% was BT, which has the luxury of a 47-year relationship with the British public. This highly original communication idea was transformed into a cult-like phenomenon by equally inventive media thinking. The brand’s iconic 70s runners and their catchphrase ‘Got Your Number’ has slipped into the public consciousness. So prolific was this campaign that the majority of all articles written about deregulation were accompanied by imagery provided by 118 118. By focusing on the period when consumers still had a choice of calling 192 or the new 118 number, this paper provides a straightforward advertising effect: £11.5m communications spend delivered £45m in revenue.

20

1-800 CALL ATT for Collect Calls: Carrot top

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Effie Worldwide, Bronze Award, Effie Awards, 2004

The task facing this campaign was to persuade people to switch from their own brand. The objectives were to increase recall of the brand’s phone number, improve usage and increase the collect calling market and to achieve planned revenue. View Summary

The task facing this campaign was to persuade people to switch from their own brand. The objectives were to increase recall of the brand’s phone number, improve usage and increase the collect calling market and to achieve planned revenue. The results of the campaign are shown graphically and the authors’ report that all objectives were achieved.

The campaign, 1998-2000, to inform people of the new changes in telephone number codes (including the 020 numbers in London), to convince of the need for this, and to prompt the required behaviour change. View Summary

The campaign, 1998-2000, to inform people of the new changes in telephone number codes (including the 020 numbers in London), to convince of the need for this, and to prompt the required behaviour change. This was something important and unavoidable, but of no interest or perceived benefit to the consumer, and likely to irritate people against the background of the last number change only 4 years before, which had been put across as the last that would be needed in a lifetime. The roll-out plan for the new numbers, and the communications plan, were complex (described). National TV, press, radio and outdoor were all used. Result: the changeover went smoothly, with none of the feared disruption. All forecasts of system failure or consumer and business unpreparedness were proved wrong; there was no undue pressure on the telecoms network. Communication effects (awareness and knowledge of the change) were monitored throughout the campaign, and measured progress against set targets as well as showing where more or less effort might be needed (BMRB business and consumer surveys); some of the evidence from this is described.

In a market characterised by 27 competing providers Telecom was being undermined by new players' low price offers. View Summary

In a market characterised by 27 competing providers Telecom was being undermined by new players' low price offers. The campaign was simple, accurate and tailored to each customer's need. It saw Telecom regain its position as the premier provider of business telco services.

Campaign in 1999 for Yellow Pages: Talking Pages. Objective: increase number of calls by selling the telephone number. View Summary

Campaign in 1999 for Yellow Pages: Talking Pages. Objective: increase number of calls by selling the telephone number. Medium: TV, drip strategy. Result: 400% increase in recall of the number since campaign start, 30% increase in calls.

Launch of the new national brand, Cable, 1996. The industry structure, regulations, financing, services offered and technological attributes of the industry are described: the investment will reach £12 billion by the end of the decade. View Summary

Launch of the new national brand, Cable, 1996. The industry structure, regulations, financing, services offered and technological attributes of the industry are described: the investment will reach £12 billion by the end of the decade. But by 1995, shares in cable companies were underperforming, and serious City disillusionment was reported: the main reasons was slow uptake, with penetration rates plateaued at 22%, far below their projected 45% by end of decade. To meet City scepticism about the quality of cable's marketing, and to generate the required step change in the demand for Cable TV, a new national marketing initiative was conceived in 1995 and executed in 1996. The Cable brand was positioned as a delivery mechanism, which would provide all entertainment and information needs to the home in one link. TV supported by radio, press and posters used, integrated with other marketing communications. Results: the declining sentiment about cable operators in the City was reversed from start of advertising in January 1996; programme well received in city briefings, with substantial editorial coverage; DRTV response to the National cable Hot-line (discussed); likelihood that some 10% of sales prospects being converted to subscriptions; pre-post tracking showed ad recall cut-through, points communicated to those who recalled the advertising (compared to non-recallers) (GfK). Argues that basis of a long-term brand has been cost-effectively established.